The Internet has evolved into a ubiquitous network that has inspired many companies to rely upon it as a major resource for doing business. For example, many businesses may utilize the Internet, and similar networking connectivity, to manage critical applications, access content servers, automate assembly and production lines, and implement complex control systems. Support for such mission critical applications, distribution of information, marketing, and other forms of network traffic rely more heavily on network connectivity than ever before.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of networking traffic, many businesses have realized that network congestion appears to go hand in hand with successful use of this network connectivity. Thus, when network congestion occurs, administrators may attempt to increase overall bandwidth of a network by adding more network links. However, the underlying problem of network congestion may remain, since control over the bandwidth may remain limited if not non-existent. Moreover, attempting to manage the flow of network traffic across multiple network links may result in increased costs with ineffective use of the available bandwidth. Therefore, it is with respect to these considerations, and others, that the present invention has been made.